My wife and I are looking at installing a steam generator in our hall shower. It was initially designed to be a steam shower but we have not been able to afford the generator system until now. We are looking at the AV2 by Amerec. Our shower is approximately 66 cu.ft. The description says this generator is for acrylic style steam enclosures. Ours in Italian tile. Would this system be appropriate? It is reasonably priced and all inclusive (excluding misc plumbing supplies). Please advise.

The actual measurements are 34.75" x 34.75" x 93.34" which comes to 112713.88375 cu in or 65.6821 +/- cu ft. The enclosure is fully tiled with porcelain tiles. I would probably install the generator near the inside right side of the shower as there is a ready supply of both power and water in the wall. Hope this helps. Thanks for responding.

65 is the raw cubic feet. We need to compensate for the porcelain tile which is 15% more per tiled wall. The adjusted cubic feet calculates at 90 acf.An AV2 would be way too undersized for this environment.Performing the same adjusted cubic foot sizing in Acyclic instead of tile is at 78 adjusted cubic feet and could use a AV2 which goes up to 80 adjusted cubic feet.If using tile and the 90acf, then a model AK5 would be used.

Thank you! Tho I am a little confused as to why the tile factors into the calculations for acf. Please explain, if only for my edification. It would seem to me that the internal space is fixed and tile, which in this case is impermeable would not matter. Does steam absorb into tile? I could see the grout, which even when sealed is relatively porous, but tile? I realize that tile does absorb heat, but that should not matter with regard to overall volume. It's not like we are creating a hyperbaric chamber here. The dimensions I gave are the inside dimensions from tiled wall to tiled wall and tiled floor to tiled ceiling. If anything, you would have to remove the tile to get to the base chamber volume of 90 acf. Sorry, for being picky, funding is a concern and we don't want to purchase any more than we absolutely have to so please, explain the calculations/reasons to me. Thank you for your time!

Wall material absorbs heat and it is the properties of the materials that alter steam room sizing calculations.

The goal is to warm the environment such that you can enjoy a warm steam bath within 20-30 minutes. Some like a hot room…some prefer a warm and billowy steam. What we don’t want to do is undersize the steam generator for fear that the room never achieves a bathing temperature to suit your liking.

Besides heat absorption of wall materials, the ambient (starting) room temperature of the bathing environment and length of steam line run from the steam generator to the steam room are additional factors that impact room temperature escalation. Though the AV2 is a great steam generator, we do not recommend it unless the room is fiberglass module. A 5.0KW steam generator is entry-level when it comes to small tile/stone rooms.

Should one wish to take a chance, the AV2 is the least expensive route, however; upgrading to a 240VAC system down the road could prove costly.

Thank You! That explained a lot!! Just one more inquiry, please bear with me. We currently have a shower head with a "mist" setting. When we use that starting with a cold tile shower stall, we get lots of steam in a couple of minutes by setting the water dial to full hot. It produces a good amount of steam, (but also a lot of water) in a short time and is good for a short steam bath...till the hot water runs out that is! Would the AV2 produce more steam than that? I don't stay in more than 5 - 10 minutes, then take a 3 - 5 minute break outside, shower in cool water then repeat about 3 times.(This is the usual cycle I go through at my local spa.) I guess I am trying to say I want to use the shower head as a shower and a steam generator for my steam baths. The run from the generator would only be through the shower wall so about 4- 4.5". Would the AV2 work? This information would help me greatly in deciding which unit to invest in.

Here is what Amerec markets this unit as "The Vapormist affordably provides the ambiance of soft, gentle steam at lower temperatures than standard 240V steam units"Also, these were designed for use with Acrylic and Fiberglass, not tile.

Ultimately, the decision is yours but in our opinion, and AV2 will not achieve an average temperature of 110 degrees within 15-20 minutes. The AK5 is still our recommendation. If we size it, we guarantee it's performance.

Tampering and altering this equipment no longer has warranty and UL listing no longer applies.We believe in selling the appropriate equipment for the environment, not making modifications to the factory build. You may have caused a liability now that can hurt you and Amerec. It sounds like the AV unit was not really suited for the application. You may contact Amerec at 800-331-0349.